String Guides

Every bass I've owned just has the round string guide for the D and G strings (I only play 4's). However, I've noticed there are several different kinds of string guides out there from bars to the hipshot string guide found on the Fender Roscoe Beck. I did a search on this forum to try to find out the reason for all of them or the differences, but I couldn't find anything. Any help would be appreciated.

Its really all about looks because they all accomplish the same thing. They create downforce on the strings so that you don't get rattles at the nut or elsewhere. They're only particularly useful on necks without and angled headstock (i.e. fender). The biggest differences between the styles are a) how many strings they hold down (2 or 3), how they mount (a screw all the way through or a coupld of screws half way), and what they're made of (hipshots are brass, fenders are, i believe,steel, and the bar ones are plastic and some inexpensive metal).

Personally, I have a hipshot 3-string guide on my fretless jazz, and it has been a joy. It's a quick-loading design (no need to thread strings though it, just slip them under the little 'wings'), is weighted nicely, and looks great. I highly reccomend it or the 2-string if you haven't got the money or the room.

basspartsresource.com has them. That's where I saw them. The bass I'm building is going to have a Tele neck so I don't think a 3-string tree would fit (or it would at least look too weird taking up so much space), so I'll probably just end up going with a standard round. I think it will do the job just fine, as I haven't really read anything saying that the Hipshots will help me much more. Thanks so much for your help, though, it did help me a lot.